Page 16 - EngineerIT January 2022

ICT – LOOKING AHEAD

Technologies that will reinvent our

digital future in 2022 and beyond

By Mohammed Amin, SVP – Middle East, Russia, Africa & Turkey (MERAT), Dell Technologies

021 was a year of recovery and resilience, and one that brought 3. The security industry is moving towards automation. Regional
extraordinary shifts in the way we live and work. Technology enterprises and governments are facing cyber threats of
2has been an important pillar throughout it all, helping the world greater sophistication and impact on revenue and services. The
to connect and collaborate, as it transformed the fundamentals of 2021 Dell Technologies GDPI study found that globally, 82% of
healthcare, commerce, education and financial services across the businesses are concerned that their existing data protection
global economy. measures may not be sufficient to meet future challenges, while
Going into 2021, we predicted that a few key technologies would 74% cite that they have had increased exposure to data loss
shape the future of business as organisations strove to become digital from cyber threats with the growth of employees working from
at heart. These included Hybrid Cloud, Edge, 5G, Intelligent Work home. As a result, the security industry is helping businesses to
Solutions and AI/Automation technologies – all of which accelerated modernise and automate their recovery and business continuity
the pace of digital transformation and brought some major strategies, pivoting from automated detection to prevention and
opportunities and shifts in the way organisations do business today. response, with a focus on applying AI and machine learning to
As we head into 2022, we’re living in a do-anything-from- speed remediation.
anywhere economy, enabled by an expanding data ecosystem. It
is estimated that 65% of global GDP will be digital this year. For Beyond 2022, Quantum Computing, Automotive Mobility and
countries across the Middle East, Russia, Africa and Turkey region Digital Twins will gain pace and feature among the top technologies
(MERAT), this influx of data presents both opportunities and that will define the industry’s focus.
challenges, as business success will depend on the capabilities to
harness this data. With this in mind, let’s look at the technology shifts 1. Quantum Computing – We expect hybrid compute to take centre
that will transform businesses in the region. stage and provide greater access to quantum simulation for a
cost-effective and accessible way to get quantum systems into the
1. The Edge will become the new frontier. Edge computing has hands of universities, data science teams and researchers.
gained pace with the rise in IoT devices and data proliferation. In 2. Future of Mobility – The automotive industry is transforming
fact, use cases for IoT across the region are increasing with the at several levels. It is fast becoming a data-driven sector for
development of numerous mega projects, including smart cities, everything from entertainment to safety to major disruptions
transportation, energy, security, etc. As digital transformation such as Car-as-a-Service and automated delivery. The
accelerates, Gartner predicts that around 75 per cent of enterprise- automotive ecosystem will rapidly shift focus from a mechanical
generated data will be created and processed outside a traditional ecosystem to a data and compute industry and will continue its
centralised data centre or cloud by 2025. This shift results from evolution towards digital transformation and deep interaction
the immense explosion of data generated by machines and people with IT ecosystems.
and the demand for immediate access and insights into this data. 3. Digital Twins – simply put, this refers to a virtual representation of
As the world becomes more mobile and IoT plays an increasingly a physical asset and will be a core driver of Digital Transformation
critical role, the Edge is where businesses will find the greatest 3.0. It uses real world data to create simulations that can predict
opportunity to create new value. how a product or process will perform and this type of data
2. Data is the fuel of the digital economy. In the new data era, simply analytics will transform the future of business. Thanks to all the
being digital is no longer a differentiator. Fueled by the escalating potential use cases that exist, the digital twin market is projected to
growth of data, emerging technologies are ushering in a new era rapidly grow within the next few years. The market was valued at
of innovation, where an organisation’s competitive advantage is $3.1 billion in 2020 but is expected to reach $48.2 billion by 2026.
directly determined by how fast data converts into meaningful
insights that drive business outcomes and create new value. Today, These near-term and long-term perspectives are based on
a businesses’ forward trajectory is based on its capabilities to the strides we’re making today and as a technology optimist, I
efficiently mine, store and manage data properly, so the business is increasingly see a world where humans and technology work
armed with more data insights and time to focus on creating new together to deliver impactful outcomes at an unprecedented
value with technology. Moreover, as the sheer volume, variety and speed. Driven by a sense of purpose and through a laser focus on
velocity of data continues to grow, we’ll see more organisations harnessing technology to drive progress, 2022 can truly be the year
creating a data-ready culture and investing in technology to that defines our digital future. n
automate and scale. Now more than ever, organisations are
rethinking their data management strategies to lead in the data era. Let’s connect: Twitter @mamin624 and LinkedIn

EngineerIT | January 2022 | 14